Chapter 10

10

Ben

" I t's really nice having you back home, Ben. You should do this more often." Mom was happier than I had seen her in a long time, and that made me feel hella guilty.

"It's been… nicer than I thought it'd be." I was still surprised at how much I had actually enjoyed being here.

She kissed my cheek. "You've always been so cagey about coming back here. I swear, the moment you drove off for college, it's been like pulling teeth to get you to visit."

"I know. I plan on changing that. I'm sorry I've been so difficult about it."

She ran her hands through my black curls. Hers was now peppered with gray. "You could have stayed here, you know?"

"Mom, I don't think I would fit so well in that old twin bed anymore. Besides, I have a good job, and they're paying for me to stay at the inn."

"He's such a nice guy. He's really made that place so much better since he took it over. He's gay too, you know? Pints n' Pool has a great burger than your father loves."

"Mom, stop." I laughed happily. "You are always trying to tell me about the plethora of gay men in the Basin. I'm good. But I will say that I have seen a lot since coming home. Things change."

"Your old friend moved back from France. I know that you guys weren't… Well, he stopped coming around when you all were in high school. But he's such a nice guy. So handsome with that red hair and those blue eyes."

"Mom, seriously, stop." I laughed loudly. "I saw Percy."

"Percy… He's a chef and was trained in France. His mom was so proud. I'm glad that he came back to take over the bakery. That place has been here for as long as I can remember. You used to love to go in and get a red velvet cupcake. You'd cry if we wouldn't take you."

"Oh my God!" I shook my head. Things never changed. "I was like six. I cried at everything."

"Then I never saw you cry again. You went from like ten to forty overnight," she said sadly and ruffled my hair before turning away. "You were such a strong person. I never had to worry about you. If we had known…"

"No one knew, Mom. That's why it's called being in the closet." My choices had left a wake of victims behind in its path. It hurt knowing that it was my own mother. She hadn't deserved that.

"I know that!" she playfully swatted at my arm. "Do you like it? I've never made it before, but it looked really easy when Rachel Ray did it."

"It's… good," I lied.

"It's too dry. Hers came out all creamy. This looks like a crumbly mess." Her warm laugh filled me.

"It's not bad. It could definitely be creamier."

"I don't know how you survived with me feeding you," she giggled. "I was a horrible cook."

"You still are. But somehow, I survived, and honestly, I think we ate out much more than you remember."

"I don't like that they sent you back here," she said vehemently.

"It's the way business works, Mom. If you have the connections, they send you."

"It's still tacky." She wasn't wrong.

"It's felt like… Well, I haven't really accomplished anything except…"

"What, honey?"

"Percy has rallied all of the other businesses, and they have decided to decline the offer. I don't think that I can accomplish anything except to up the offer, but that would come from San Francisco, and I know the new offers are going out soon. There's a meeting with the city in a few days, and I think the mayor really wants this, according to my boss. Maybe they will just tell the businesses that they have to sell, or they'll declare domain over the land and force them to. It would be better to sell to us than be forced to. It feels messy, and I don't like getting involved. It's too close." I huffed. The whole thing had started feeling gross to me. But it was my job, and I didn't know what to do any longer.

"Are you sure that any of this is a good idea? Those businesses are staples in our town. Most of them have been here for decades, babe. How are they just supposed to give all of that up?"

"I don't know." I huffed. "Would you do it?"

"I've never had something that I cared about, except for my family. I would fight if they tried to take that away," she said forcefully. "God, can you imagine? I'd be so upset that who knows what I'd be capable of doing."

"This isn't kidnapping your family, Mom. My God, you and Percy have both made me a criminal in the last twenty-four hours."

"Oh, you've spoken to him? That's good. I'm glad you're back in touch. Oh… because of the offer and the bakery being a part of the deal. How did he take that?" She leaned over the counter and threw her hair over her shoulder.

"We haven't… talked about that. He doesn't know, I don't think." My answer was as sheepish as it could be, and Mother understood its meaning correctly.

"You're lying to him?"

"No! I… yeah. I guess. I definitely withheld the truth." I felt like a fraud.

"Have you asked yourself why?"

"Oh, I think you can figure that out," I whispered.

"You still like him." She stood up straight and clapped her hands together happily.

"I don't not like him." I looked up from my very dry chicken casserole that tasted like breadcrumbs and not much else.

"This town, any small town, really, is a fragile ecosystem, hon. If you start taking away things that represent the heart of this place, what do you have left? Can't this resort be built around the businesses? Why does it have to be destroyed to build something new? Why must some lose for others to win? I should call the mayor. George would listen to me. He's always been agreeable."

"Do not do that," I pleaded. I knew what my mother was capable of when she set her mind to something. "We just have to see where things play out, I guess. I know that Mister Boyd will be unhappy that I wasn't able to take care of this. I've been avoiding his emails since I don't have good news."

She walked around the island and leaned against it beside me. "Let's get back to Percy instead of this unpleasantness. All I will say is I think it's pretty horrible, Ben. I don't like that they asked you to do this, and honestly, I think that you should look really hard at yourself and what you are willing to do for this company."

"That's not getting back to Percy."

"Isn't it?" She asked sharply, getting right to the point.

"They will not change the resort's plan. All of our resorts are exact copies of each other. Our studies show that people like coming to places that they know and feel comfortable. We have guests who visit all of our resorts, and that is one of the things they love. It's a dependable, known commodity."

"Sounds boring. Imagine if Tahiti were the same as California – or Italy, an exact duplicate of England. Individuality is what makes places interesting—at least to me." She patted my shoulder and then squeezed it. "Now, back to Percy. Was he happy to see you?"

I groaned. "Let's just say that the years have not mellowed him. But I think we have worked it out for the most part. I apologized for everything, and I hope he believes that it was sincere."

"I know it was." And this was the reason that I should come home more often.

"Yeah. I… uh… kissed him last night?" I grinned.

"And?"

"He ran away." I pushed the plate away. I could not eat any more of that.

"You should have followed him." She swatted at me. "Why didn't you?"

"He had called me a stalker."

"You don't kiss your stalker."

"I am totally fucked, aren't I."

She laughed. "Probably so. He loves that bakery, Ben. If he finds out about you from someone else, it would be bad. I mean, I'd be pissed if I were him. You need to tell him the truth if you… you know."

"I know. And I will when the time is right." I had to. Mom was right. I couldn't walk away from him without trying. To try meant I had to be truthful.

"And you will reconsider what you're doing? I really think you should look for something else. You wanted to design, and that's not really what you're doing, is it?"

"I will think about it. Promise."

"I love you, hon. I also really like you being home."

"Honestly, I do, too." It was nice to really mean it.